Top 5 best Critics

Roger Joseph Ebert was the all-time best-known, most successful movie critic in cinema history, when one thinks of his establishing a rapport with both serious cineastes and the movie-going public and reaching more movie fans via television and print than any other critic. He became the first and only movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize (it would be 28 years before another film critic, Stephen Hunter, would win journalism's top tchotchke). His opinions likely were relied on by more movie-goers than any other critic in cinema history, making Roger Ebert the gold standard for film criticism.

Ebert was born in Urbana, Illinois, to Annabel (Stumm), a bookkeeper, and Walter Harry Ebert, an electrician. He was married to Chaz Ebert. Roger Ebert died on April 4, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois.

Gene Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He partnered with fellow critic Roger Ebert to present a series of television shows which centered on film reviews. Their partnership lasted from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999. Siskel became famous for his heated arguments with Ebert, as they frequently disagreed on the merits of particular films. Siskel had brain surgery in 1998. He died in 1999, due to complications from the surgery.

In 1946, Siskel was born in Chicago. His parents were Nathan William Siskel and his wife Ida Kalis, first-generation Russian-Jewish immigrants. Both of his parents had died by 1955, when Siskel was 9-years-old. He was primarily raised by his uncle and aunt. Siskel was educated at the Culver Academies, a college preparatory boarding school which was located in Culver, Indiana.

Siskel received his college education at Yale University. He graduated with a degree in philosophy in 1967. He was interested in a writing career, and studied writing under the famous journalist John Hersey (1914-1993). Hershey provided the recommendation which allowed Siskel to be hired by the Chicago Tribune.

Following his college graduation, Siskel joined the United States Army Reserve. He served as a military journalist, and as a public affairs officer for the Defense Information School. In 1969, he was hired by the Chicago Tribune as a journalist. Shortly after, Siskel was appointed as the newspaper's new film critic. He would continue working for this newspaper for 30 years.

In 1975, Siskel and Ebert started presenting a film review show for WTTW, the local Chicago PBS station. The original title for the show was "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You". In 1977, it was renamed to "Sneak Previews". At this point, it became available to the PBS program system. In 1978, the show started airing biweekly on PBS, where it gained a national audience. In 1980, the show started airing weekly on over 180 stations. It reportedly became "the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting".

In 1982, Siskel and Ebert were offered a new contract by WTTW. The duo found the contract's terms to be unfavorable to them and they chose to resign instead. They were replaced by new hosts for the show, Neal Gabler and Jeffrey Lyons. Ratings soon declined, and the new hosts were ridiculed in press reviews as inferior to Siskel and Ebert. Meanwhile, Siskel and Ebert were offered their own syndicated television show by Tribune Broadcasting, the parent company of the Chicago Tribune. They took the offer, and became the original hosts of "At the Movies" (1982-1990).

In 1986, Siskel and Ebert were offered a new contract by Buena Vista Entertainment, the television division of the Walt Disney Company. They launched their new show under the title "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies" (1986-1999). At about this time, the Chicago Tribune chose to demote Siskel. He was no longer the newspaper's full-time film critic, but a freelance contract writer. Siskel chose not to protest his demotion, though Ebert publicly criticized the mistreatment of his partner.

In May 1998, Siskel was hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor. He underwent brain surgery. For weeks, he only participated in his show through comments delivered by phone. When he resumed work at the studio, Siskel seemed to be more lethargic and mellow than usual.

Siskel published his last newspaper review on January 29, 1999. He praised the young actress Rachael Leigh Cook, and commented that he hoped to see her next film. With signs that his health was declining again, Siskel had to seek further medical treatment. On February 3, 1999, he announced that he was taking a leave of absence from his television show. He appeared optimistic that he would be able to recover within a few months. He died on February 20 of the same year, due to complications from his surgery. He was 53-years-old at the time of his death. His funeral was held at the "North Suburban Synagogue Beth El", located in Highland Park, Illinois. Siskel was buried at Westlawn Cemetery, located in Norridge, Illinois.

Following Siskel's death, his television show was renamed to "Roger Ebert & the Movies". A series of guest critics served as temporary replacements for Siskel, until a more permanent solution could be found. In 2000, Siskel was finally replaced by the new host Richard Roeper. Ebert was also diagnosed with cancer in 2002. As Ebert's health declined, the show lost much of its viewership. It was canceled in 2010. Siskel is still fondly recalled by the viewers of his shows, who found that their favorite host was irreplaceable.

Richard Roeper was born on 17 October 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Siskel & Ebert (1986), Something to Live For and Entourage (2004).

Doug Walker was born in Naples, Italy; and because his father was in the Navy, lived in many different places across the United States when he was growing up. He went on to study film at Northern Illinois University, majoring in communications.

After college, he worked as an illustrator and started making YouTube videos for fun. He first grabbed viewers' attention with clever 5 second movie versions of popular films, and gained more notoriety with his snarky "Nostalgia Critic" reviews.

In 2008, "Nostalgia Critic" moved from YouTube to the independent site That Guy With the Glasses and Channel Awesome. By 2009, an increased income from advertising on the new site allowed Walker to quit his day job (a video that he made to commemorate the occasion also went viral) and develop his web persona full-time.

Leonard Maltin is one of the most recognized and respected film critics of our time. He recently completed his 30th season with the long-running television show, Entertainment Tonight (1981).

Maltin was born on Friday, December 18th, 1950, in New York City and grew up in suburban Teaneck, New Jersey. He credits the huge volume of old movies shown on New York television - and access to the City's famous revival theaters, as well as the Museum of Modern Art - with his "basic training" in film history. He attended New York University as a journalism major, and quickly became the entertainment editor of the campus' daily newspaper.

He and a friend published their own home-grown magazine when they were in the fifth grade. This evolved into a mimeographed publication called "Profile", which reflected Leonard's growing interest in show business and film history. At the age of 13, he volunteered his services as a writer to two fanzines: "The 8mm Collector", of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and "Film Fan Monthly", of Vancouver, Canada. Two years later, he assumed responsibility for "Film Fan Monthly" and continued publishing it for the next nine years.

It was that magazine that inspired an English teacher in his high school to suggest that he meet a friend of hers who was an editor at Signet Books. That meeting led to an offer for him to compile a paperback compendium of capsule movie reviews. The book was published in 1969, when Maltin was 18 and a freshman at NYU. Decades later, he is still best-known for that now-annual paperback reference, "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide". A perennial best-seller, "The Guide" has become an indispensable tool for movie lovers and includes over 16,000 film reviews, with ratings and essential facts about each title. In 2005, he introduced a companion volume, "Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide", which focuses on movies made before 1965, going back to the silent era.

Leonard's other books include "The Best 151 Movies You've Never Seen", "The Disney Films", "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons", "The Great American Broadcast: A Celebration of Radio's Golden Age", "The Great Movie Comedians", "The Art of the Cinematographer", "Selected Short Subjects" and (as co-author) "The Little Rascals: The Life and Times of Our Gang".

Leonard has been teaching at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for the last fifteen years. His popular class screens new films prior to their release, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Guests over the years have included: Alexander Payne, Judd Apatow, James Franco, David Lynch, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Costa-Gavras, Bertrand Tavernier, Anthony Hopkins, Annette Bening, Paul Haggis, Paul Weitz, Mark Ruffalo, Walter Salles, Guillermo del Toro & Jason Segel, to name just a few. In addition to top writers and directors, Maltin welcomes costume and production designers, editors, composers, cinematographers, casting directors, and other creative collaborators, in order to explore all aspects of the filmmaking process. This direct access to top talent has proven to be invaluable in his students' own filmmaking endeavors.

Leonard's reviews and signature on-air interviewing style can now be seen on his weekly program, Maltin on Movies (2010), on ReelzChannel, where he has appeared since the channel went on the air. He also previews movies-on-demand on Comcast and appears occasionally on "Turner Classic Movies". For three years, he co-hosted the weekly syndicated movie review program, "Hot Ticket", which was produced by Entertainment Tonight (1981).

Leonard is a prolific freelance writer, whose articles have appeared in "The New York Times", "The Los Angeles Times", "The London Times", "Smithsonian", "TV Guide", "Esquire", "The Village Voice" and "American Film". He has contributed to Oxford University Press' "American National Biography", and was the film critic for "Playboy" magazine for six years.

Additionally, Leonard frequently lectures on film and was a member of the faculty of New York City's "New School for Social Research" for nine years. He served as Guest Curator at the "Museum of Modern Art" film department in New York on two separate occasions.

Leonard created, hosted and co-produced the popular "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD series and appeared on Warner Home Video's "Night at the Movies" features. He has written a number of television specials, including "Fantasia: The Creation of a Disney Classic and has hosted, produced and written such video documentaries and compilations as The Making of 'The Quiet Man' (1992), The Making of 'High Noon' (1992), "Cartoons for Big Kids", The Lost Stooges (1990), "Young Duke: The Making of a Movie Star", Cliffhangers! Adventures from the Thrill Factory (1993) and _Cartoon Madness: The Fantastic Max Fleischer Cartoons (1900)_.

In 2006, he was named by the Librarian of Congress to join the Board of Directors of the National Film Preservation Foundation. He also has received awards and citations from the American Society of Cinematographers, Anthology Film Archives, The Society of Cinephiles and the Telluride Film Festival. In 1997, he was made a voting member of the National Film Registry, which selects 25 landmark American films every year. Perhaps the greatest indication of his fame was his appearance in a now-classic episode of the animated series, South Park (1997).

He has been married, since 1975, to fellow movie lover Alice Tlusty Maltin. They are the proud parents of Jessie Maltin (aka Jessica Bennett Maltin), who in recent years has become a valued contributor to the annual Movie Guide.